http://www.filmfest.org.sg/asian-cinema.php
Death in the Land of Encantos
Lav Diaz | The Philippines | 2007 | 540 mins | R21
“Beauty is the beginning of terror.” This epigraph by Rainer Maria Rilke forms the premise for this nine-hour opus by Filipino director Lav Diaz. Shot in response to the devastation of the eastern Bicol region of the Philippines by Super Typhoon Durian, Death In The Land of Encantos meditates on the fragility of life and the regenerative power of both nature and art.
An acclaimed Filipino poet named Benjamin Agusan (Roeder Camanag) returns from Russia to his hometown of Padang, to find it buried under landslides of mud and a nascent river. Shocked, he wanders through the ravaged land, reconnecting with distraught friends, lovers and family members.
The stark black and white images of barren trees and rocks paint a bleak and disturbing landscape of loss. Yet Diaz surprises the audience by strategically cutting from these harsh images to quiet scenes of physical and emotional intimacy between characters, expressing a belief in the natural rhythms of life.
Death In The Land of Encantos was awarded a Special Mention in the Orizzonti (Horizons) Documentary Section of the Venice Film Festival in 2007.
Production Company / World Sales:
Produksyung Sine Olivia
11A Mirasol Townhomes, Mirasol Street, Cubao, Quezon City, Metro Manila, The Philippines.
Tel: (63-9) 2023-14708
6 April | 11:00:00 | The Substation
11 April | 10:30:00 | Republic Polytechnic
